The King
Mackerel is the largest of the toothed mackerels, reaching weights in excess of one hundred pounds. Kings are present in large numbers in the late Spring, early Summer, and Fall, with only a few caught during the hot summer months of July and August. While many people troll for kings, it's much more fun to fish for them with live bait. Small bluefish, right at the legal size limit of 12 inches, are much preferred as bait by those who fish in this manner from boats or piers. Mullets about the same size work very well in the Fall...and kings have been caught on live hogfish, pinfish, spots, and croakers....and if the water is lively enough, they have been known to go after dead bait as well....but not often.
Years ago people would float fish for them off the piers on Bogue Banks. These were freeliners, where the rig would consist of a red and white balsa float (this being before the Age of Styrofoam), some piano wire....#9 or a bit lighter being favored back then, and a single hook, about 5/0 or a bit smaller, which was run through the baitfish just in front of the dorsal fin, with a treble hook dangling free. The king, in his slashing attack, would often miss the single hook and take the front half of the baitfish....the dangling treble hook saved many a strike.
The bluefish (usually), once hooked, was plopped into the water off the end of the pier, and swam wherever he wanted....requiring constant attention. Around the mid- to late-60's, the "anchor rig" became popular on the piers. This required a fairly heavy spinning outfit, which was used to toss out a heavy sinker, which then snuggled into the bottom sand. A clothespin or other clip, attached to a couple of feet of line, and with another small clip at the other end, was snapped onto the anchor line. When the main king rig was baited and ready, the clothespin was clipped to the main line a few feet above the float, and the whole mess slid down the anchor rig. This contraption kept the bluefish from wandering off too far afield...and the float was necessary to keep him up where he could flash and flutter in appetizing fashion...and the fisherman could do some bottom fishing, or plugging for Spanish or blues.
Pier kings run a wide range of sizes, from little ten pounders to well over forty pounds, with the larger ones much more common in the fall.
The "end crowds" were a regular group, and probably still are, with their favorite piers. Fishing became more of a social activity in this sense. People would hang their fishing rigs on hooks in the pierhouses with little concern about theft, and they had carts, some of which were rather elaborate, on which to load rods and reels, coolers, tackleboxes, and other assorted baggage. They still do this today, as a visit to any of the Eastern Carolina piers shows.
You can use the 'freelining' method off a small boat...using a cast net to catch mullet, or by trolling or plugging for bluefish...and using the same method as described above. You just find a likely looking area...experience is a great factor...and getting the experience is half the fun of fishing...and let the boat drift with tide and wind. Easy on the wallet, and in the midst of a half napping drowse, the scream of a Penn 4/0 is certainly something your cardiologist would quiver over....
Kings are a tasty fish, either filleted in the case of the smaller ones, or sliced into steaks in the case of the larger ones. The steaks are quite good when slathered with a Down East barbecue sauce and grilled, or just grilled while basted with butter and herbs. And with decent French fries, cole slaw, and hushpuppies, a nice king steak makes a dish fit for a ...king....sorry....I don't know what came over me....
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This little fellow is An Event, rather than simply a fish. An entire economy built up around the homely mullet. He is essential to game fishing and to commercial fishing. For more on how the mullet fits into the game fishing scheme, click on the mullet image. He is a fine food fish, too, when dipped in corn meal and fried...or when split and smoked....a bit greasy, for the mullet is a fat fish, but very very tasty this way. We catch him mostly with cast nets, for baitfish purposes, looking for "finger mullets"...about the size of ...of....well....your finger. Commercially, crews will set nets out off the beaches, anchored at one end on the beach, and out off the beach several hundred feet at the other. It used to be that the net was set by a dory crew that would row out, but engine power is used now. When a school of mullets hits the net, it's a sight to behold, as the net bows under the weight and the net floats go under....and the dory brings the water end of the net back around to the beach, where a tractor pulls in the belly of the net. Tons of mullet and other fish are caught this way, then trucked over to Morehead City to the fish houses.
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A most interesting fish, the cobia...also called "ling" or "crabeater" in some other parts. It is a unique fish, having no closely related species, and so it has been put into a biological family all to itself - Rachycentron. The cobia's lower jaw is underslung, and it bears some superficial resemblance to the remora...or shark sucker. It's dark brown top color and general shape often cause it to be mistaken for a small shark when first glimpsed. The cobia is most fond of crabs, shrimp, and small fish of all kinds...and it is much attracted to floating objects. It's not unusual to spend a morning anchored around the rail trestle between the Morehead City and Beaufort, with not much action...and then look over the side and see one or more cobia hanging languidly under the boat. Fishing for them is best done with something along the lines of a Penn 4/0 although lighter tackle will generate considerable thrill. A heavy spinning rig is fine for cobia. We like a heavy monofilament leader and a single stout hook, oh, say an 8/0 in the Wright-McGill pattern. A live hogfish is a fine bait, for the hogfish will grunt and snort loudly when rigged and let loose. Some use frozen squid, others prefer dead whole fish, like spots, croakers, or hogfish. The rig is simple, nothing fancy...enough weight to help hold in the strong currents in the sounds, and the hook rig as described. Cobia will pick up the hogfish and move along with it, stripping line out at moderate speed, the clicker a purring burr. They seem prone to play with their food, for it is not unusual to have them drop the bait. Examination of a dropped bait will show crushing characteristic of cobia...rather than bites as from a bluefish or other toothy predator. Cobia seem to run quite large at times, in excess of 50-60 pounds...with larger ones not uncommon. Cobia, like kings, are also caught off the beach piers.
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Flounders are a staple in the waters around Carteret County. They are in the shallows off the beaches, and in the tidal pools, and in the marshes behind Bogue, Shackleford, and Core Banks. They range from little sand dabs to regular door mats. Pier fishing for flounder is great fun...especially in the fall as the wind flattens the seas and the water becomes crystal clear....and full of small mullets and glass minnows. Flounder will move in around the piers, attracted perhaps by baitfish sheltering among the pilings, or maybe by the shade. At any rate, if conditions are right, you can let your eye wander the sandy bottom..and as that eye becomes attuned to bottom features, it will see the faint outline of the flounder, nestled into the sand...or maybe see a puff of sand or two as one skitters in and hunkers down. Baits vary, from live finger mullets to live shrimp...although pinfish around pier pilings will make short work of a nice shrimp. Cut bait, strips sliced from the silvery white belly of a bluefish, or a white strip from a fellow flounder, is also very effective. A typical flounder rig is made up of an egg sinker, just large enough to hold the live mullet down, maybe a couple of fluorescent beads and maybe a small spinner near the hook. A casual flip of the rod takes the mullet out to where it can be dragged back in front of the flounder...and if the feedbag is on, so is the fish. Another method is to plunk the bait down by the pilings, and walk slowly along the pier, bumping the bait along the bottom. This is effective when the water is a bit murky, or as the water deepens out to the middle of the pier. As for boat fishing...well...that's a matter of finding spots that are productive...and that is half the fun of fishing. The marshes and sounds can be very productive.
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